Paul Murphy Defends the Left, Warns Against NATO No-Fly Zone
Paul Murphy addressed the war in Ukraine, expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine and condemning the Russian invasion. He opposed Western escalation, warned against a NATO no‑fly zone, and cautioned that harsh sanctions would harm ordinary Russians and undermine the anti‑war movement.
Solidarity with Ukraine
Murphy said he stood with the people of Ukraine and described the graphic images of brutality as horrifying. He noted that Richard Boyd Barrett reiterated their total opposition to Putin and his "bloody war" and that "we stood with Ukraine today" in opposition to the invasion.
Defense of the socialist left and past protests
Murphy rejected claims that the left is pro‑Putin, arguing that socialists consistently opposed Putin’s despotism and warmongering. He cited earlier opposition during the Chechnya invasion, recalled protests when Putin was given a state visit to the UK attended by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, and pointed to solidarity actions for Kazakh trade unionists when Russian troops were deployed to Kazakhstan as part of a CSTO operation.
NATO no‑fly zone and escalation warnings
He warned that a NATO no‑fly zone would mean "a hot conflict" - an air war over Ukraine between NATO forces and Russia - and could risk a wider, potentially nuclear, global conflict. Murphy argued that calls for escalation from the West risk turning a regional war into a much broader confrontation.
Sanctions, civilian impact and the anti‑war movement
Murphy criticised proposals for "total economic war" and the harshest sanctions, arguing they would hit ordinary Russian people who are not responsible for the invasion. He recalled the devastating civilian impact of sanctions before the Iraq war and said measures that harm civilians could bolster Putin’s standing and undermine the grassroots anti‑war movement.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Thanks, Cian Coirle. The first thing I want to do is express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine. I think people across the world have been horrified and moved by the graphic pictures which have emerged of just horror and brutality unleashed by the imperialist Russian invading forces. It can't but move people and give people a sense of the extreme horror of war. I do want to address the point that was made by Deputy Richmond earlier, which in some way is an attempt to suggest that people before profit and others on the left are in some way pro-Putin because we don't support further escalation by the West or ratcheting up of sanctions. And it's important to remember that while the West was rolling out literally red carpets for Putin, it was the socialist left which consistently opposed him as a despot and a warmonger. Many of those who today are attacking the left were themselves silent when Putin was committing brutal war crimes against the people of Chechnya. Let us not forget that during that invasion, Putin was given a state visit to the UK with Tony Blair and Fianna Fáil's own Bertie Ahern shook his bloodstained hands while socialists were protesting outside. The socialist left were the ones who spoke out against that war, even at the start of this year, when Russian troops were sent to Kazakhstan as part of a CSTO operation to push down and to intimidate a workers' uprising from below. It was the socialist left who organized internationally in solidarity with Kazakh trade unionists and socialists and the Department of Foreign Affairs was utterly silent. Again today, Richard Boyd Barrett reiterated our total opposition to Putin and his bloody war. We stood with Ukraine today, the people of Ukraine, and we stand with them in their struggle against the Russian invasion. But that doesn't mean that we have to go along with the calls for the escalation of the conflict by the West. For example, a NATO no-fly zone. What does that mean in reality? What that means is a hot conflict. It means an air war over the territory of Ukraine between NATO forces and Russia. It's a recipe for a global conflict and potentially a global nuclear conflict. What with the escalation, the further escalation of sanctions described by the French finance minister as total economic war, being described as the harshest sanctions that have ever existed. What is the impact of them? What is the impact of them on the ordinary Russian people who are not responsible for this war? And you've seen an impressive anti-war movement from below. People look back now at the war on Iraq and what came before the war, the first world war in Iraq, was these horrendous sanctions responsible for the death of half a million children. And everybody acknowledges that that was wrong. Well, such sanctions that impact ordinary people are wrong now and they also actually serve to undermine what we need, which is the anti-war movement to grow because they're serving to bolster Putin in the polls by portraying this as, you know, it's all from the outside as opposed to actually ordinary Russian people don't benefit from his warmongering.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
